Cordance and NeuStar Open the I-Names Global Registry

Cordance and NeuStar Open the I-Names Global Registry

June 20, 2006

Universal `Digital Address' Available for Individuals and Businesses in Support of OASIS XRI Standards

    STERLING, Va., June 20 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Cordance,
the corporate administrator for the i-names global
namespace, and NeuStar, Inc. (NYSE: NSR), a leading
provider of essential communications services to the global
communications and Internet industry, announced today that
the Global Registry Service for i-names will officially
open today at 7:00 PM EDT, (23:00 GMT).  Individuals and
businesses will be able to establish a "digital
address" for themselves that will help them protect
their identity and privacy, as well as provide a spam-safe
means to be contacted over the Internet.  NeuStar will
operate the i-names Global Registry Service (GRS).

    "Persistent identifiers as defined by OASIS, like
personal digital addresses, will become key to trusted
consumer services online," said Mark Foster, Senior
Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for NeuStar,
"They enable consumers and businesses to control their
public `digital identity.'  Eventually, people will no
longer have to use vulnerable forms of contact information,
such as email addresses, telephone numbers, credit card
numbers, or social security numbers, when interacting or
conducting business over the Internet.  We see the OASIS
XRI standards for i-names as an important complement to the
identity management standards at the Liberty Alliance and
our enabling identity federation services."   The XRI
standards use and interoperate with the SAML 2.0 (Security
Assertion Markup Language) standard, which is a key enabler
to Liberty Alliance architecture.

    Beginning today, two new i-name digital address
namespaces become available:  "=name" and
"@name."  Individuals may use their =name as a
privacy-protecting alternative to giving out email
addresses or telephone numbers.  For example, individuals
may freely publish their =name as their public contact
point on web-pages, blogs, or business cards as a way to be
contacted by others who can also authenticate their digital
identity, thus preventing spam.  Businesses, organizations
or other groups may use their @name to offer a variety of
new digital identity and trusted data exchange services.

    "Using a digital address is more convenient for
consumers because they can be freely published as a simple,
safe point of reference for an individual," said Vince
Caluori, CEO of Cordance. "I-names are the easiest and
most powerful form of digital address, because they are
simpler than a website address, require no special
technology expertise, support multiple languages, and
automatically provide the identity services people will use
most."

    I-names, which are based on the XRI (Extensible
Resource Identifier) specifications from OASIS, may
initially be registered in English/Latin, Chinese,
Japanese, and Korean characters. Support for additional
character sets is planned for the future. "I-names are
the first global address space designed from the ground up
to represent all languages," said Mr. Caluori.

    Cordance, as the original developer of the OASIS XRI
standards, has contracted with NeuStar to operate the
i-names authoritative registry and resolution service for
global XRIs in the same way that they currently do for the
.biz and .us top level domains. Individuals and
organizations may register i-names via accredited i-brokers
and their authorized resellers. In alphabetical order, these
initially include 1id.com, 2idi, Encirca, EZiBroker,
INITECH, JanRain, and LinkSafe.

    In addition to spam-safe contact service, i-brokers
will be offering two other basic i-services: single sign-on
service, which enables consumers to use their i-name and a
single, strong, secure password to log in to websites or
web-based applications; and forwarding service, which
allows individuals or businesses to create their own
simple, permanent digital addresses for web pages, blogs,
photos, videos, files, etc.
    Links to all participating i-brokers and further
information about i-services are available at
http://www.inames.net . 

    About NeuStar

    NeuStar (NYSE: NSR) is a provider of essential
clearinghouse services to the North American communications
industry and Internet service providers around the world.
Visit NeuStar online at http://www.neustar.biz. 

    About Cordance

    Cordance is the original innovator of XRI technology
and administrator of the i-name Global Registry Service
under contract by XDI.org, the international non-profit
public trust organization chartered to govern open,
community-based XRI and XDI infrastructure. More
information about i-names and services that use i-name
digital addresses can be found at http://www.inames.net .

    About 1id.com

    1id.com is a diverse, progressive, and customer-focused
global i-broker whose sole mission is to provide its
customers with ONE id -a personal, permanent, simple,
highly secure, identifier that works across all the
networked communications devices, from computers to mobile
phones. Years of research and development makes 1id.com one
of the world's most secure and highly protected web sites,
and 1id.com will provide its users with multiple services
that promote privacy, safety, security, and complete
control of their personal and business information. 
http://www.1id.com

    About 2idi

    As the implementer of the XDI.org Early Global Services
program, 2idi was the original i-broker. 2idi offers a very
simple and fast user-interface with standard OpenID
authentication and i-name contact services. 2idi will soon
introduce an enhanced services package with many new
features. http://www.2idi.com 

    About EZiBroker

    EZiBroker is a fast, easy way for retailers, with any
level of technical expertise or available development
resources, to sell i-names and a growing number of
i-services to individuals and businesses. EZiBroker
provides a low-cost, low-risk entry into this
revolutionary, unique, user-centric Internet namespace. 
http://www.ezibroker.net 

    About Encirca

    EnCirca, is an ICANN-Accredited Registrar, was formed
in 2001 to focus on the creation, management and protection
of digital identities. Once individuals are able to control
their interactions and how their personal information is
shared on the internet, then universal adoption of the
internet for communication, collaboration and commerce will
occur.  http://www.encirca.biz/html/i-names.shtml 

    About INITECH

    INITECH will launch i-broker service to provide secure
and convenient "communication identity."  This
service has been introduced in the U.S., and now INITECH is
providing it in the Korean language.  Clicking the
"Green Button" will lead you to i-names
registration, spam-proof contact service, and information
sharing service. http://www.gbtn.biz/ 

    About JanRain

    JanRain, Inc. is the industry leader in OpenID library
development and currently runs sites including
myopenid.com, schtuff.com and openidenabled.com.  JanRain
is the first OpenID developer to add support for i-names
and will be running a full i-name i-broker service by late
summer 2006.  http://www.janrain.com 

    About LinkSafe

    LinkSafe.name is an i-broker and Identity Provider
(IdP) that puts its customers first.   We're dedicated to
the principles of user-centric identity and we'll work to
provide independence and freedom even when that makes it
easier for you to take your business somewhere else. 
That's our promise.  http://www.linksafe.name 

    For more information, please contact:

     Marc Abshire
     NeuStar
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Drummond Reed
     Cordance
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail] 

SOURCE  NeuStar, Inc.